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MIAMI – August 9, 2011 – The first everBlake Shelton and Friends cruise will set sail on Norwegian Jewel from Miami to the Caribbean on October 14, 2012 for a seven day cruise. This is the first ever opportunity for fans of Shelton, one of the hottest names in country music, to spend a week at sea enjoying intimate concerts, surprise unplugged performances and more. The week of boot-stomping fun at sea is being presented by Flying Dutchmen Travel and Fan Fair Country Cruises.

A full-blown country music showdown, Shelton will perform two live concerts in the intimate Stardust Theater. In addition, there will be live music every night in at least three different venues around the ship by various country artists to be announced soon. Other exclusive perks include:

Song writer workshops;

A custom version of “The Voice” with a karaoke contest judged by the pros;

Surprise unplugged performances and jam sessions;

Question and answer sessions;

Opportunities to get up close and personal with musical guests;

Late night dance parties with radio station deejays.

Shelton is currently the reigning CMA (Country Music Award) Male Vocalist of the Year as well as one of the judges on the hit NBC show, “The Voice.” Shelton has had a string of singles that has continued with his new album, Red River Blue, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts across all genres. His latest single “Honey Bee” spent four weeks as the #1 single, and holds the record for the fastest-selling digital Platinum single for a male country solo artist.

The Blake Shelton and Friends Cruise will call on San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands and Nassau, Bahamas. Guests will also be able to enjoy three relaxing days at sea to experience Norwegian’s signature Freestyle Cruising which includes 11 dining options and 10 bars and lounges on board.

Cruises are priced starting at $1,099 based on double occupancy. For a limited time, guests can take advantage of an Early Bird Discount with rates as low as $899 per person through August 26, 2011. To book the Blake Shelton and Friends Cruise, visit www.blakesheltoncruise.com or contact Flying Dutchmen Travel at 800-248-7471. To learn more about Norwegian Cruise Line, visit www.ncl.com or call a travel professional.

MIAMI – August 9, 2011 – The first everBlake Shelton and Friends cruise will set sail on Norwegian Jewel from Miami to the Caribbean on October 14, 2012 for a seven day cruise. This is the first ever opportunity for fans of Shelton, one of the hottest names in country music, to spend a week at sea enjoying intimate concerts, surprise unplugged performances and more. The week of boot-stomping fun at sea is being presented by Flying Dutchmen Travel and Fan Fair Country Cruises.

A full-blown country music showdown, Shelton will perform two live concerts in the intimate Stardust Theater. In addition, there will be live music every night in at least three different venues around the ship by various country artists to be announced soon. Other exclusive perks include:

Song writer workshops;

A custom version of “The Voice” with a karaoke contest judged by the pros;

Surprise unplugged performances and jam sessions;

Question and answer sessions;

Opportunities to get up close and personal with musical guests;

Late night dance parties with radio station deejays.

Shelton is currently the reigning CMA (Country Music Award) Male Vocalist of the Year as well as one of the judges on the hit NBC show, “The Voice.” Shelton has had a string of singles that has continued with his new album, Red River Blue, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts across all genres. His latest single “Honey Bee” spent four weeks as the #1 single, and holds the record for the fastest-selling digital Platinum single for a male country solo artist.

The Blake Shelton and Friends Cruise will call on San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands and Nassau, Bahamas. Guests will also be able to enjoy three relaxing days at sea to experience Norwegian’s signature Freestyle Cruising which includes 11 dining options and 10 bars and lounges on board.

Cruises are priced starting at $1,099 based on double occupancy. For a limited time, guests can take advantage of an Early Bird Discount with rates as low as $899 per person through August 26, 2011. To book the Blake Shelton and Friends Cruise, visit www.blakesheltoncruise.com or contact Flying Dutchmen Travel at 800-248-7471. To learn more about Norwegian Cruise Line, visit www.ncl.com or call a travel professional.

This is dated August 9th and at that time we were on the Jewel. The date we received the notification that we were moved to the Pearl is Nov 7th. This is very confusing if they were switching us to the Pearl why would NCL still be selling cabins for the cruise out of NY for the same dates? I really don't care which ship I am on just as long as I am on one.

I know it is confusing. but call NCL, they confirmed to me that I am sailing on the Pearl out of NYC!!! The Jewel is a beautiful ship, as I have sailed her twice, I hoped to sail on a different ship! Check with the agency, they need to contact NCL and pdate their site

I'm booked on the Pearl this date for our honeymoon cruise...We booked this in July after getting engaged on the Spirit. We specifically picked the Pearl for various reasons and I would be quite upset if we didn't sail on her.

I know it is confusing. but call NCL, they confirmed to me that I am sailing on the Pearl out of NYC!!! The Jewel is a beautiful ship, as I have sailed her twice, I hoped to sail on a different ship! Check with the agency, they need to contact NCL and pdate their site

Thats the problem we were on the Jewel when we booked and they sent us the email and updated their site last week. I am going to send an email to the TA in charge of this and get some clarification

That is why I cannot right now book this cruise, to many things that don't fit together

Not quite the same thing sailing out of Miami or New York

Hope someone can find the right answers

If it helps you, we called NCL about this issue today and confirmed our cruise on the Pearl is sailing from NYC this date. We have a VERY nice suite booked on this cruise and will be quite annoyed with NCL if they change us around. Plus it's our Honeymoon cruise and we don't want to hear country all week long (nothing against country music, just not our thing).

If you check the Jewel itineraries on NCL(.)com, you'll notice it is sailing out of Miami this time-frame, but drops off the sonar the dates for the B.S. cruise. I'm certain now that the cowboy cruise is on the Jewel, and the TA in charge of the charter cruise made a royal mess of things.

We were all notified last week that we will be sailing on the Pearl instead of the Jewel. NCL.com is still selling cabins on the Pearl sailing that date out of NYC to Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, and Cape Canaveral. I also am a member of cruise critic and there are several people over there saying they are booked on the Pearl Oct 14-21 out of NYC. Do you know what is going on? People over there are really starting to get nervous about all this.

This is the answer I got:

Yes, I do know what is going on. NCL advised us nearly a month ago that they were redeploying the Jewel to remain in New York, and moving Pearl to Florida. They asked us not to share it with anyone, but the cat was out of the bag when Blake's folks asked me about it. Blake will definitely sail on the Pearl out of Miami on our original dates.

Now thinking about this logically I could see if we were sailing on the Pearl NCL would not want anyone to know until they worked out all of the logistics of moving current bookings. On the other side if the TA is wrong they had to have gotten some misinformation from NCL or why would they change everything on their end? Hopefully this will all be straightened out soon. I will be happy sailing on either ship but I know some of you will not be happy if forced out of the sailing on the ship you booked.

Lets hope it is true! I was on the booked cruise before it was chartered, had to change my date... I really do not want to have to rebook again if it changes to the Pearl! (I am leaving on the 21st...on the Jewel)

I am going; but I am trying to book a hotel room that will offer shuttles from Ft. Lauderdale International airport to hotel and then shuttle me to port miami. Anyone have any suggestions? I saw a Comfort Inn but the reviews were terrible. I may just have to rent a car for a day when I arrive or stay by the airport and go back and forth Saturday and Sunday to catch the ship shuttle. Need a little feedback here...thanks!

I am going; but I am trying to book a hotel room that will offer shuttles from Ft. Lauderdale International airport to hotel and then shuttle me to port miami. Anyone have any suggestions? I saw a Comfort Inn but the reviews were terrible. I may just have to rent a car for a day when I arrive or stay by the airport and go back and forth Saturday and Sunday to catch the ship shuttle. Need a little feedback here...thanks!

Check out the thread on the Roll Call page. There are a bunch of us flying into FLL and using www.ridesas.com to get to the port. $15 a person.